NEW YEAR’S DINNER FOR THE PRICE OF 240 GEL

December 10, 20141,496 Views

The menu is based on the New Year’s “staple products” which are considered a standard in the Georgian society

Amid the preliminary holiday season and rapid depreciation of lari, CBW decided to calculate how much a traditional New Year’s supra will cost Tbilisi residents this year. For a more objective perspective we conducted a study for the convenience of our readers and compared the prices between the hypermarket Goodwill and the largest marketplace Deserter Market. In the future issue, we plan to compare the early December prices to those of the last quarter of December, in order to see how the prices on the market shift with the nearing of New Year’s and the volatile quality of lari.

CBW’s hypothetical supra consists of all the must-have’s on a Georgian New Year’s table: satsivi, roasted piglet and chicken, eggplant with walnuts and, of course, gozinakhi. Add to that all the wine and champagne needed to make a true celebration.

Piglet, chicken, and walnuts are three main New Year’s products in Georgia.

One can’t picture a Georgian New Year’s supra without the fried piglet with radish in its mouth as the centerpiece.

Piglets are available in plenty in the marketplace and cost around 70 laris each, with a 15 lari per kg price. Whole piglets have not yet arrived to Goodwill since the hypermarket only purchases this product in the period right before the holiday, but one can buy a kg of pork barbecue or mtsvadi for the price of 18 laris per kg.

Chicken on the Georgian market can be found in its many different variants. Cooked chicken at Goodwill will cost 14,47 laris to the Georgian consumer. However, raw countryside chicken will cost 9,49 in Goodwill and 8 laris on the “Deserter market.”

Walnuts are a defining ingredient of many Georgian dishes, such as satsivi, bazhe, and gozinakhi. Summer drought damaged this year’s walnuts extensively. So, the price of walnuts this year is quite striking: 25 laris per kg on average. Walnuts in Goodwill will cost Georgian shoppers 30,50 laris, but these more pricey walnuts are well sorted and exclude the walnuts blemished by drought.

A large amount of walnuts is needed to make quality satsivi, a traditional Georgian dish the sauce of which is a mix of Turkey stock and walnuts. Turkey this year will cost 60 laris to Georgian tradition-oriented families. Just like piglet, turkey also hasn’t entered Goodwill’s stock.

Khachapuri is a Georgian pastry that is a staple dish at any supra. There are many different types of khachapuri, but the most widespread one is imeruli khachapuri made with Imerian cheese. This cheese can be found in both supermarkets as well as the marketplace and will cost 17,95 lari per kg at Goodwill and 10,50 at the Deserter Market.

Apart from khachapuri, a supra requires a plate of cheese. Most beloved cheese in Georgia is sulguni, the cost of which fluctuates between 21 laris per kg at Goodwill and 15 laris at the local marketplace.

Traditional flat and crispy Georgian bread shotis puri will cost 1,05 laris and 80 tetris at the hypermarket and the marketplace respectively. One needs three to five pieces of bread to make a full-fledged supra.

Gozinaki, the defining dessert of Georgian New Year’s celebration consists of slightly roasted walnuts caramelized in honey. This signature dish made with 1 kg of walnuts and 0,8 kg of honey will cost around 37 laris this year.

Of course a highly volatile factor in our New Year’s supra is wine, as its amount on a Georgian celebration is up to each family’s desire. However, at least one bottle of champagne should be present to make that brand New Year clinking sound, which will cost minimum 11 laris this year.